How to tune your guitar > Info > How to Tune a Guitar

How to Tune a Guitar

Before you try to tune a guitar, you must first know the strings and their thickness.  The thicker the string, the less likely it’s going to get out of tune.  Some people use pianos to get your guitar in tune because it can stay in tune for years.  If you don’t have a piano or other kind of instrument, try to tune it as accurately as possible.  It only counts if your instrument is in tune with the other instruments you’re playing with.
Guitars should be tuned every time you pick it up.  The cheaper the guitar you own, the more likely it’s going to go out of tune quicker.  This doesn’t mean cheap guitars are going to go out of tune, but more often than not this is going to occur.  Make sure your guitar is in tune before you play it because the act of playing it can make it go out of tune. 
It may take you as long as five minutes to get your instrument in tune at the start, but as you become more familiar with the process, the amount of time it takes you will keep going down.  There are some guitarists that can get their instrument in tune in about 30 seconds.